Beyond The Chaos Gate: Lovecraftian Horror

by Quentin Ravensbane

  They didn't go to the bar immediately after eating. They actually had another cup of coffee each before taking a walk through the drizzling rain and the foggy landscape. Nevertheless, by 9:30 AM, they were ready to depart for the Starlight's End.

  Ian found two umbrellas that he had stashed and forgotten about a long time ago. He gave one of them to Freya, and he braced himself to use his as a shield against the elements.

  When they left his cottage, they entered another world, a dreary place that had somehow replaced the world of green plants and blue skies that the pair of them were starting to miss more than they would admit. There were sounds behind the fog, sounds that may have had a natural origin, but somehow, even the familiar became strange in this place.

  Freya started walking close by Ian's right shoulder, making contact with him at every unexpected sound. Ian felt both flattered and worried by her need for his protection. He wanted her to need and want him, but he evaluated his ability to defend another as at the level of a defiant Chihuahua.

  Ian could only see about ten feet through the fog. There was a strange, low-frequency sound coming out of the obscured areas ahead of them. Freya made another contact with his side, and then she grasped his hand ferociously.

  As best they could, they navigated their way in the proper direction, using the sidewalk and other indicators of the correct direction to go. They came to the beginnings of the town park, a shortcut across which would shorten their journey considerably.

  As they stepped onto the short mowed grass of the park, a strange smell suddenly came to their attention. It was not as pungent as a corpse, but it was a vaguely foul smell, which fit in well with the obscuring fog.

  They only had to go a few feet to the first trees. The park was full of Oaks, and Cedars, and a few Hickory trees, such as the first tree they encountered. There was a sudden sharp rise in the unexplained noises, just as a large dead tree with crows on every barren branch reared up out of the fog.

  The closer they got to the tree, the stronger and more pungent the odor that wafted up from it. The crows were raucously protesting their presence here at their private haven. The crows were glaring in a manner that struck Ian as a menacing manner, and he put a protective arm around Freya and steered a path clear of the tree and its crows.

  Ian was starting secretly to fear that they had lost their way in the drizzle and mists when suddenly the Starlight's End loomed up out of the fog bank. It was with a sense of relief that the two of them stumbled into the bar, shutting the door between them and a world that was becoming increasingly alien.

  Garret on the way to Oscar's Lab 10:00 AM

  Garret drove the fleet Impala that the precinct had loaned him to the South side of Holden, where the water plant, and Oscar's laboratory, was located. On the way to see Oscar, he caught a glimpse of a car tailing him, about two hundred feet behind his vehicle. He got just enough of a look at the car to be pretty sure that it was that of Detective Crawford.

  He pulled into the parking lot and made his way into the facility. With the aid of a helpful Operator, he found the lab and knocked on the door. As he expected, Garret found Oscar busy conducting the daily water tests.

  "I came by to check on your conclusions about the fungus among us," Garret said. "I think that Crawford followed me here, so keep your eyes open out in the world. I believe that his loyalties might be suspect."

  "Yes, he has always seemed a little off," Oscar agreed, "and he has been getting more off by the day recently."

  "Keep it under your hat," Garret instructed. "We don't want to provoke any negative reactions from him if we can help it."

  Oscar agreed with that assessment of the situation since he was not by nature a very confrontational type of guy. "That fungus is some bizarre stuff," Oscar explained. "If there were another classification for organisms somewhere between fungi and animals, I would class it there. It is like nothing that I have ever heard of before."

  "I don't have access to DNA analysis equipment, but I would be willing to bet that the fungus is not related to any other life forms on the planet," Oscar explained. "It is aggressive in a predatory way, and yet it also seems to be able to merge different organs together in a grafting process that I cannot explain.

  It would appear to have been left at the murder scenes by someone, and it seems to be to merge the cephalopod and human bodies together. I suspect that if the fungus has enough time to work on the flesh, it may be able to bring it back into a semi-living state, in the sense that the corpse would be able to move around, and parts of the circulatory system would be functioning.

  The reason I say that is because there were a few human cells trapped on the hyphae of the sample you gave me, and in a matter of hours, they changed from very dead to some weird sort of inactive state with a functioning cell metabolism. I have no doubt that they would become active-but-changed cells if they were given a few more hours for the change."

  "Things have really gotten crazy around here," Garret complained. "Give me a plain old killer any day, but they can keep this zombie shit."

  Oscar pulled out a file folder containing everything that he had found in the investigation of the fungus. Garret noted with interest that Oscar had conducted several tests on chemical vulnerabilities of the fungus to various poisons. It was also a little depressing that, overall, the fungus was not nearly as vulnerable as your typical organism.

  Garret added the folder to other files in his briefcase dealing with other aspects of the cases. He decided that it was probably time to visit the local library to see if he could discern the commonalities of the crimes that might suggest a course of action.

  Garret went down into the parking area and got into his car. He was actually looking forward to spending an hour or two at the library. The library itself was a relatively extensive facility for such a small town, and Garret looked forward to the peace and quiet.

  Garret had always had an eye for finding patterns in activities and objects, which was one of the reasons he had gravitated to investigative work. A nice quiet space with nobody bothering him promised to advance his understanding of the patterns in this case.

  As Garret made the left turn out of the parking lot, he saw Crawford's car parked in the street in the other direction for just an instant, before the turn hid the car from his view once again. 'I see that he hasn't given up yet,' Garret thought. That situation is one that that would be best handled later.

  Oscar's lunch at 12 PM

  Oscar found a temporary stopping point in the lab testing regimen, for once in a timely manner for taking a meal on the official schedule. He decided that he would grab a burger at the Dairy Diner, the only full-fledged eating establishment in town.

  He pulled into the parking for the cafe, got out and went in to get his burger, and maybe play one or two games of pool on the only public pool table in town. He encountered the trim, brunette waitress named Gail when he got inside and ordered his food.

  While she filled his order, he racked up the balls for a game of pool. He had intended just to do a practice game, but one of the other customers came over and laid down his quarters on the table. The challenge was on!

  It was nearly one in the afternoon when he had finished his burger, and trounced the other guy a couple of times at pool. He decided that it was time to head back, and left the cafe, started his car, and began the short journey back to the lab.

  When he pulled into the parking space, he noticed that something was wrong. An emergency exit door opened into the parking area from the back of the lab. It was usually shut and barred, but now it was ajar. The alarm on the door was disarmed long ago, but it should not be open.

  Oscar went through the door, to encounter a mess that wasn't present when he left for lunch. It was evident that someone had gone thoroughly through every place in the lab where something might be hidden, and he noticed immediately that the sample of fungus was gone.

  Someone had obviously broken into the lab and tossed the place, and the
target was evidently the fungus sample. It was time to call Garret and let him know what was going on.

  A few moments after he called Garret, the Special Agent pulled up beside the door. Getting out of his car, he verified that the door had indeed been forced, and then he entered and had Oscar fill him in on his experience.

  Garret took notes for a few minutes until the well of information ran dry, and then he put his pad and pen away. "I think that Detective Crawford may have done this," Garret said. "He was tailing me when I came to visit you earlier. I am almost sure that the man is not on our side anymore."

  "I think this town is full of people that are no longer on our side," Oscar suggested. "I think that whatever is happening here is affecting most of the individuals in this town's minds.

  Given the likely uselessness of reporting this crime to the same precinct which hosted the probable culprit, the two men mutually agreed not to make an official report. Besides, the fungus had already yielded most of the secrets that it was likely to produce, so no real harm was done.

  The two of them hung around the lab for almost another hour, before Oscar decided that he was done for the day. By mutual consent, they agreed that they would stop at the bar for a little while, and have a few cups of coffee as they discussed the general situation with each other, and whoever of the other group members were present.

  Friday, April 12, 2019 @ 3:20 PM

  Garret and Oscar had just arrived at the Starlight's End and managed to procure a cup of coffee for themselves when the door opened, and Jonny and Wilber came in. This made the gathering complete, even if nobody had called a meeting.

  There were no other customers in the place, just the six of them, including Freya. Having no reason to maintain the watchful diligence of the waitress, she brought a carafe of coffee to the table and sat down.

  "It is getting dangerous out there," Garret cautioned. "Oscar here had his lab broken into and items missing. People are changing for the worse, and more and more of them are apparently developing evil intentions. I don't know why we are as resistant to what is happening as we are, but it will probably mark us as their enemies at some point, so we must be careful."

  "Are you ready to accept that something unworldly is happening here, Garret?" Ian asked. "I know that it is a hard thing to take for you, but I don't think that you can explain the changes in the people and the town, the murders, the fungus, or the dreams as normal things."

  "I cannot explain the changes or the dreams, but they could still be caused by natural processes," Garret began, "and the murders could still be the acts of a deranged mind. Even the psychic power that you claim to possess could be nothing more than acute observation, and a subconscious mind that is good at seeing patterns and solving problems."

  Wilber said, "Maybe so, but you must admit that to address a problem, you don't need to find the correct solution, just a solution that brings you the results you want. I assume that we want to resolve this problem with us winning, right?"

  "You are right about that," Garret admitted. "We need to act as though the situation is dangerous and supernatural, and that we can defeat it by beating the people doing the bad things. If we find a more secure base to operate out of and assume that a win is possible, then we will be in the best shape that we can manage."

  "There is plenty of room at my parent's house," Freya suggested. "It is a big house, and I worry that they are all alone there. They would be glad of the company.

  Garret looked around at the other four people and discerned from their expressions that they were all okay with the change of venue. It stood to reason that Ian would go with whatever Freya wanted, and Oscar could use some security to calm his rattled nerves from the break in. Wilber and Jonny would be happy to have a situation that delivered them a captive audience. It was settled, then.

  "Okay, then," Garret said. "If you will make the arrangements with your parents, I will make a quick run in the morning to Tyler to get some provisions that we will need. We will need to develop a SOP for dealing with the current problem, and act to stop this stuff from happening."

  Garret looked around the table once more, just to see if there was any dissension in the ranks. Everyone appeared to be on board with the plan, so he concluded that it was a done deal.

  Freya was startled into almost rising to reassume her waitress role when the bar door opened and a man came in. It was Winston, in another of his rare visits to the bar he owned.

  "Freya, this town is getting really dangerous out there," Winston said. "I no longer feel like it is safe to open the bar, even in the daytime, so I have decided that we need to close the bar for a while. I will pay you a base salary for the time we are closed, and we will open back up when this is over."

  "What are you going to do, Winston," Freya asked in her cuddle-voice. "Is it safe around your neighborhood?"

  "It is about the same as here," Winston admitted, "but I have a house in Dallas that I plan on moving into for the duration. It should be better than here."

  "Adopt me," Jonny quipped. "Well, somebody has to say it."

  For about 45 minutes the six and Winston had an energetic conversation that did not end with the adoption of Jonny, and it was agreed that the bar would close this afternoon, Winston would move to Dallas, and the six of them would all move into the house of Freya's parents.

  With all of the important points addressed, Garret played taxi for Ian and Freya, taking them to his cottage, where Freya would call her parents, and arrange for tomorrows move.

  Oscar also drove Jonny home, before driving to his own Spartan residence. He reflected that tomorrow would bring healthy changes, as well as a few bad ones.

  12 dream and death

  Saturday 13, 2019@ 6:15 AM

  I know that I am dreaming. I remember living the dark dream of the Lurker just now, and now, I am here between the gray and the black. Time is pregnant with the expectation of omens.

  The silence here is almost more than my ears can bear, its soundless sound is deafening. I feel the pull that cannot be resisted, and I am suddenly in the blur of movement toward a place unknown.

  I am returned to the place of obsidian towers, deep in the ancient past. This time there is movement, and those who called these towers home are still alive. I see the great species in all their forms attend their incomprehensible tasks.

  Their forms are many forms, for it appears that they change their forms at will. The most of them show many limbs, grasping limbs and tendrils, tentacles and ectomorphic extensions can all be seen on a single creature. They vary in size from less than the height of a man to a scale to rival the greatest of the dinosaurs in their times.

  I feel the coming of the one who seeks entry into our world. He draws nigh, and the great race is laid low with madness, and they no longer are masters of their bodies. There is a schism in the air, and deep groans from within the world, and a great darkness of the soul that covers the world.

  There is a rip in the fabric of what is, and for an instant, a shard of something that cannot exist in our universe is here, before it is withdrawn in pain. In the instant of this intrusion, the Great Species and their world are remade. Their bodies writhe with mutations, and I know that they will change until they conform to something that is the product of that place of chaos.

  After a timeless time of watching, I see that the great race is becoming that which we have come to call the Old Ones, the ones of chaos and terror. I know that what happened then will happen to us now. Should we fail to stop the Lurker, our world will be undone, and we will become them! Qui mortui sumus!

  I have a knowing that it always happens in the same way. First comes the worshippers of chaos, and then comes the agent of the change. The agent of change may take many different forms. In our world, it is a relentless fungus. In other worlds it has been spores or contagions that spread throughout the planet. In one place it was the spreading of a cancerous form of nanotech that was once called the Grey Goo.

  Ian opened his eye
s, his heart pounding from the abrupt way that the dream just ended. There was no warning of any kind, and the insight hoped for was forever lost.

  Freya was watching him with concern in her eyes, and Ian was warmed to see that someone such as her cared that much about him. He gave her a smile and fished in his mind for the best and most reassuring thing to say to her.

  "So what does Qu morti sumus mean?" she asked. "You were saying that in your sleep."

  "I don't have a clue," Ian said. "Sounds like Latin. We can ask Oscar when we see him."

  "Well, enjoy the luxury of my tiny studio cottage while you can," Ian joked. "Tonight we sleep in the cold and drafty family home."

  "Very funny," she chuckled. "I think you have the luxury-deprivation thing reversed there."

  "The important thing is that it is your time to cook," Ian quipped. "I will have Eggs Benedict, please."

  "You will have oatmeal, and you will like it," Freya ordered. "After you wash the dishes, we will go to my parent's house to continue your training." Freya smiled to show that she was making a joke. Ian wasn't so sure.

  All was done as she said, and they spent most of the morning lolling about in decadent inactivity. They suspected that this might be the last chance they would have the opportunity to be lazy for awhile.

  Ian and Freya took comfort from each other's company. In a sense, they were storing up memories of good times together, because both of them expected that the next few days would not be good. They hoped that the good memories would be a shield against the despair that saturated the town that might protect them for a short time.

  A little after 11:30 AM, they put on their raincoats, and picked up their umbrellas, and prepared to go out into the cold breeze that now hid itself within the eternal fog. The rain drops were unpredictable, sometimes coming as individual drops, and sometimes driven like sleet by the cold winds.